A New Beginnning
by booklover2341
Summary: New school, new friends, new life. Which means...double the characters, DOUBLE the romance, and DOUBLE THE DRAMA! Crossover with mortal instruments and infernal device series.
1. Nasty surprises

I let my bags drop to the ground at her feet, rolling my shoulder blades.

Nate had meant to pick me up, but since he was busy I'd had to make do on my own.

Things had always been hard but ever since Aunt Harriet…A fresh wave of pain sliced through my chest, making my throat tighten and tears well up in the corner of my eyes.

No, I took a shuddering breath. I wasn't going to think about that now. This was not the time or place for that.

Craning my head, she stared up at The Institute building that loomed above me.

In a way, this would be my home for the next year. Maybe even more. I shivered at the idea.

In no way did this place represent my idea of a home.

It was painted black, with an uncanny resemblance to a haunted house, and the fact that there didn't seem to be any lights on inside didn't help.

The rows of windows at the top of the building seemed stained, and some even appeared to have cracks running through them.

Overall the building was huge, and judging from the state of it, not very well kept.

Sighing I shouldered my bags; I wouldn't be surprised if juvenile delinquents attended here.

Wrapping my thin coat around my shoulders tightly, I shuffled towards the entrance.

Inside it seemed to be even colder than out, with occasional drafts sending chills down my spine.

A lone light shone weakly, casting dark shadows across the brick walls. Beside the entrance doors stood two empty armours, rust residing in the hinges.

Goodness, this pace was dreadful, I thought. My lone footsteps echoing through the deserted hall.

Suddenly there was a small sound, like a door creaking open. I froze, looking around wildly for the source of the noise.

There it was again. Gasping, I stumbled back into the shadows, and tightened my hold on my bag, backing up until I was flush against the wall.

The armoured knight creaked as its head slowly turned to face me.

I heard a shrill scream escape my mouth, heart beating erratically, I stumbled away from it, tripping over myself in the haste.

The metal groaned again, as it took a step towards me. My mind screamed at me to run, but my legs refused to obey.

Creak, groan. It was gaining faster.

I gripped her bag tighter until my knuckles grew white, and then mustering all my strength I swung at the knight sending it careening backwards into the wall.

"Bloody hell." I heard a voice exclaim. Wait. What? Furious, I stomped towards the crumpled armour, and whipped off the helmet.

It was a…boy. Of course. Feeling embarrassed and utterly furious I planted both my hands firmly on my hips. "Oh, you think it's funny to scare new arrivals do you, well I'll show you." I snapped.

I swung my bag back for another hit, only to be stopped short as the boy looked up.

He was the type of person Aunt Harriet would have said had 'quite elegant features.'

High cheekbones, startling blue eyes framed with thick long lashes, full lips curved into a smile, and artfully tousled hair that fell across his face.

I took a deep breath and tried not to stare, 'maybe if I'd been shallower I'd have let him get away for this little 'prank.'

But I had been brought up to judge everyone equally, and having a strikingly handsome older brother, knew just how un-fair it was to play favourites.

"Get up," I demanded. He cocked his head to one side. "You hit quite hard." I gave him a triumphant smile, glad to regain some dignity. "For a girl."

Fooled again, I narrowed my eyes scornfully at him. "Well," I hissed. "I'm more than willing to give a demo."

He grinned as if he found me amusing. "I'm sure you are." Before I could snap out an angry retort an agitated voice shouted out. "Will? Will, is that you?"

I turned to look over my shoulder to see another boy, panting as if he'd just come from running a long distance.

He was tall and slender, with dark hair, which was bridled with streaks of silver. And dark grey eyes, which stood out against his pale skin.

His gaze stopped on me, and I immediately averted my eyes, embarrassed at being caught staring.

"Will?" he said, I could feel his eyes on my back and fought the urge to turn around. "What are you doing?"

The boy, whose name I presumed was Will, flashed a grin towards me, I scowled back pointedly.

"Nothing, just got a bit held up." I glared darkly at him. Yes, "I believe frightening new students would take up quite a bit of your time, wouldn't it?"

"It's my way of welcoming you. Besides, you should be thankful. I'm, only preparing you for what's to come."

"You're new here?" asked the grey-eyed boy.

"Uh, yeah." I replied momentarily confused. "And what's so bad about this place?"

Well, apart from it being so unkempt, and random gorgeous, infuriating boys jumping out from rusty armour, I thought.

"Well," replied Will, a sombre expression crossing his face. "The heads here are absolutely horrible."

"Will don't…," sighed the other boy, seeming exasperated. "Jem," said Will, holding up a finger. "It's rude to interrupt others when they are trying to talk." He turned back to face me.

"They lock you up in cupboards and feed the naughty children to the lions. The ones we keep in the garden." He added as an afterthought.

It was such a ridiculous tale but he said it with such solemnity and certainty it was hard not to believe him.

"Will," replied Jem, stepping in front of him. "Stop it." He trained his intense gaze on me, a hesitant smile spread across his face.

"Just ignore him, Charlotte and Henry are absolutely wonderful, you'll love them. If you want we can take you there."

"Yes, might as well carry her there, Jem." Will said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, no. You don't need to do that. I have two legs, I'm perfectly capable of walking their on my own." I said, making sure to inject lots of sarcasm into my voice.

"You may have legs but that doesn't mean you have the knowledge to navigate through these halls." Muttered Will.

I scoffed derisively. "Says the person who finds it amusing to dress up in rusty armour and scare people."

"Will," shouted Jem, stunned. "You did what? Your level of maturity never fails to surprise me." He said, shaking his head.

Will, choosing to ignore this, extended his arm towards me, eyes sparkling in amusement "Would you be so kind as to allow me to escort you to the office?"

"No," I replied bluntly. Will pretended to be horrified, placing a hand on his chest, mouth wide open.

"The lady hurts me deeply with her sharp words." "Word," I said, in the same flat tone.

Jem snorted, "Looks like Will Herondale has finally met his match." Eyes glinting, Will smiled impishly. "In that case," he said, "I accept the challenge."

I grinned coldly. "So do I."


	2. Awkward situations

**CLARY**

I smoothed out the crumpled paper, which had dozens of my doodles scrawled at the sides.

22, 23, and 24. My room for the next few months. Hand a few inches away from the doorknob, I stopped.

Please, I prayed. For once, I would be delighted if the universe didn't try and conspire against me.

The last thing I needed was for my roommates to be a bunch of shallow, fake, wannabe's. I scoffed. That would be just my luck.

Well, alteast Simon was here. I thought, half-heartedly. Oh whatever. Just get it over and done with, I ordered myself.

The longer I stood here, the more of an idiot I'd look like. Besides, who cared what others thought.

What happened to the bold, confident, persistent Clary mom believed in? I sighed, letting my head drop forward against the closed door, and laughed bitterly.

Who was I kidding? "Anything you find particularly interesting in that door?" I heard someone exclaim.

I jumped in surprise, head swivelling towards the owner of the voice. Wow, all of a sudden I was finding it very difficult to form coherent sentences.

Forget sentences, I was finding it hard to think of a single word to say. "Uh…" I replied smartly. Note the sarcasm.

Slim, lean but muscular, curly golden hair and golden eyes to match, framed with long lashes. The word 'leonine' sprang to mind.

And hot. Very, very hot. My face flushed bright red, as I realised he'd probably just seen me standing there like an idiot and laughing to myself.

Great start Clary, I thought bitterly, mentally scolding myself. He raised a brow, eyes sparkling with mirth.

I fumbled for something to say. "Yeah, it has lots of…interesting textures and patterns." Stop talking, I willed myself helplessly.

"I really like art." I added, holding up my art book which was in my hand, for evidence.

The corners of his mouth twitched, and he leaned lazily against the wall. "Really?" He said playfully.

I nodded. Unable to help myself. "Yeah, like did you know Picasso's full name has 23 words. Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan…" I trailed off, face burning.

"What?" Teased the boy. "You don't remember?" "Well, it's not like people really care about his full name." I muttered.

The boy smiled now. No doubt thinking what an idiot I was.

"Uh, I need to go." I murmured lamely, gesturing towards the door. He nodded. Trying unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh.

"Well, make sure to update me on the next studying of the doors session. Or do you look at other pieces of furniture as well?"

Yeah, he was definitely mocking me. "No," I grumbled. "Only doors." Way to blow it, Clary.

I turned my back to him. "Hey?" he said. I stopped, cringing. "Hmm?" I asked, not turning around.

"I didn't catch your name." "That's because I didn't till you." I responded, turning around now.

He grinned, showing teeth, and I could see he had a small chip in his incisor. "Of course. My bad."

We both stood there, staring at each other, him watching me expectantly. Why? I had no idea…Wait.

"Uh, Clary. My name's Clary." I blurted. Could this get any more embarrassing, I fought the urge to wince.

"Well Clary." He was grinning widely now. "I'm Jace. See you round."

And just like that he disappeared into the room opposite the room which was soon to be my dorm room.

I groaned. Great. Not only had I just outright humiliated myself completely, but I'd have to face him for the rest of my boarding school days.

With renewed confidence, without further ado I flung the door open. I mean, it's not like things could get any more embarrassing, right?

Wrong. As I stepped into the room I felt something snag my foot, and I gracelessly hurled myself into the room, banging into a bed-post.

The culprit, my satchel. Someone snorted loudly. "Oscar-winning entry."

Once again I felt my face grew hot, as I stood up awkwardly, rubbing my forehead where it had made contact with the post.

The girl, who had laughed at me, bit her lip. She had hair as back as a raven's wing, and startling blue eyes, which stood out against her pale face.

I searched her face for any signs of unkindness but found none. She grinned. "I wasn't making fun of you." She said, before sticking out her hand.

"Cecily." I took it warily. "Clary." Now that the scene had passed, I noticed that there were three other girls in the room.

One of the girls had a book propped in her lap, with some stray curls around her face. She smiled hesitantly at me, her grey eyes kind and warm.

"Hi," she said softly but firmly. "I'm Theresa. But everyone calls me Tessa."

I smiled back at her. "Hey," She motioned towards a slender young girl who was hunched over slightly.

Her glossy dark hair obscuring half her face. "This is Sophie." The girl gave a small smile, but didn't say anything.

"Isabelle Lightwood" I turned my head to find another girl stalk towards me, her posture exuding confidence.

She shook her inky black hair out of her face. "I hope we'll get along well."

There was something threatening in her tone. Cecily rolled her eyes so I guessed she was joking.

But it didn't seem like she was, judging from her expression. "Don't worry." I replied firmly, I'm sure we won't have any problems."

Isabelle's mouth quirked slightly, before she composed her face back into a neutral expression. "Good."

"Well," said Cecily, clapping her hands together. "Now that's over who wants to play a game."

Her question was greeted with silence. "Or not." She said, sighing loudly.


	3. First impressions

**ROWAN**

My sneakers squeaked harshly against the linoleum. For what seemed like the hundredth time, I pushed the strap of my bag back up onto my shoulder.

The stacked papers in my file kept threatening to slip out, grumbling, I pressed it firmly together.

I had enough problems as it was, I did not need this.

Squinting in concentration, I balanced the file precariously on my arm, and flicked through the papers, searching for my schedule.

"Oh," I heard someone exclaim, before something heavy crashed against me, the impact knocking me backwards.

My only thought, as I fell to the ground was to save my file. I jumped towards it, but I was too late.

A cry of surprise escaped my mouth as I myself tumbled towards the floor, arms and legs flailing wildly.

I rolled onto my side, groaning, when my eyes landed on a heaped figure lying opposite me.

Oh god, first day here and I had already become a walking hazard.

I rushed towards the figure, who was a pile of long slender limbs lying unnaturally still on the floor.

"Uh, excuse me?" I whispered meekly. The boy moved suddenly, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

He rolled onto his back, groaning. His hair was streaked with silver. He'd probably dyed it. But silver was quite an unusual colour, I mused.

The stark dress shirt he wore was now slightly crumpled, and I could tell, even though he was lying down, he was quite tall.

His eyes flickered open, and I gasped. They were the colour of molten silver, with flecks of gold thrown in.

Unlike any eyes I'd ever seen before. Were they contacts? He looked away, seeming slightly abashed, and I felt heat flood my cheeks.

"I am so so sorry." I apologised, and knelt down beside him. He turned to look at me, mouth quirking slightly.

"No worries, it wasn't your fault, I should've been watching where I was going." He winced, rubbing the back of his head, and I briefly recalled hearing a loud 'thunk' during my fall.

I covered my mouth with my hand. "Oh god," I said "how hard did you hit your head? Is it bleeding?"

He chuckled softly. "No, no I'm fine really." He tried to sit up, but closed his eyes suddenly, going very still.

I swallowed hard, and instinctively reached out to support him, placing my hands against his back. I could feel the heat coming off his body, and the curve of his back.

He shot me a thankful smile and slowly sat up. "Carstairs," boomed a loud voice, and the boy rolled his eyes skyward.

I stared quizzically towards the direction of the voice. It was another boy, this one had hair a few shades darker than 'Carstairs', and eyes as blue as a winter's night after a snowfall.

"Where the hell were you? I turn my back for one second, and the next thing you've disappeared.

Maybe I _should _pin a tracking device on you so at-least I'll know where you are." The boy cut off mid-rant as he noticed us.

"Well, well." He said raising an eyebrow. "So you've been going behind my back have you, it's okay," he said hastily, holding up a hand even though Carstairs had made no attempt to speak.

"Truly I understand. Though I'm not sure the middle of the school hall is the most ideal location."

Carstairs, what an odd name. He sighed, "Will, I was just making a quick trip to my locker, but due to unfortunate circumstances I got a bit held up."

He winked at me, which didn't go unnoticed by Will. "Yes, yes. Mock me all you want. 'I count myself in nothing else so happy as in a soul remembering my good friends.'" He lamented.

"Oh shut up," said the boy, but not unkindly, and I could see his eyes sparkling with affection.

I sighed inwardly, I'd be lucky if I made any friends as good as these this year. My eye caught the scattered papers peppering the ground, and I gave a cry of annoyance.

Both boys shifted their attention towards me. I gave a dismissive wave. "Ignore me." The silver-eyed boy followed my line of gaze and gave a small smile.

"Goodness," squawked Will. "What subjects are _you _taking this year? All of them?

I began the long painful procedure of stacking up the papers. God knows how long it would take to organize them. I definitely needed to get a better folder.

I felt someone crouch down next to me. "Here let me help," said the boy softly.

"Thanks," I muttered. "But you really don't have to. It's my fault you're in this mess in the first place."

The boy laughed. "I admit, it wasn't' the best of first meetings but it was wonderful getting to know you."

"You don't know me," I replied, feeling a rush of pleasure at his words. "Well then," he said. "I'll start now."

He flashed me another of his kind smiles. "I'm James, but everyone calls me Jem." I frowned. "Jem?"

He gave me a sidelong glance. "Yeah, it's a bit weird…" "No, no." I cut him off. "It's just that…the other boy…he was calling you, uh, Carstairs?"

Jem grinned. "My last name." I nodded in understanding. Jem Carstairs. "Jem." I nodded. "I like it." Then mentally scolded myself. I must sound like an idiot.

Was it my imagination or did he flush lightly. "Well uh I'm Rowan He smiled, and handed me the last of the papers.

"Well, Rowan, I guess I'll see you around?" "Yes you will," Muttered Will, yanking Jem lightly by the collar.

"Now hurry up, or else we're going to be late." Jem gave his friend a wary glance. "Since when did you start caring about punctual timing?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Since I found out that Charlotte's thinking of starting up a sword fighting competition. The first good idea she's come up with in…."

Will concentrated, as if he was thinking hard. "Well, since ever, now I think about it."

Jem shook his head, and turned towards me. "Well don't want to keep them waiting." He smiled once again, and it lit up his whole face.

"If you need anything just come by my room, it's number 34." "Hurry up Jem," called Will over his shoulder.

Jem gave me a small wave before striding down the opposite corridor.

I felt my stomach flip. Number 34. I scribbled it down on a piece of paper.


End file.
